Private Equity 24 Hours

Last updated: September 10, 2026, 9:28 PM ET

Blackstone Expands Data Centre Cooling Bet

Blackstone has agreed to acquire Flow Control Holdings (FCH), a US manufacturer of highly engineered components for data centre liquid cooling, from Audax Private Equity, as demand for liquid cooling accelerates alongside AI-driven computing loads. The transaction marks Blackstone's latest push into infrastructure tied to the artificial intelligence buildout. Audax will retain a minority stake in the company following the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. The acquisition was reported alongside a separate mid-market transaction in which FFL Partners completed an investment in Waylin Partners, a provider of services focused on the office of the chief financial officer.

Mid Ocean Offloads SI Solutions to Macquarie

Mid Ocean Partners has agreed to sell SI Solutions to a Macquarie group entity, offloading a Huntersville, North Carolina-based provider of structural integrity engineering, testing and software solutions to critical infrastructure owners and operators across 16 locations. The deal adds to a steady flow of mid-market infrastructure-services exits as sponsors look to return capital to limited partners.

Fullscript Draws L Catterton and Altas Partners

L Catterton and Altas Partners have agreed to acquire a majority stake in Fullscript, the North American whole-person care platform, from HGGC and Snapdragon Capital Partners. The Ottawa, Ontario-headquartered company serves more than 135,000 practitioners and 10 million patients annually across North America, underscoring continued sponsor appetite for healthcare and wellness assets with recurring revenue.

Healthcare Fundraising and Dealmaking Accelerate

ARCHIMED, the healthcare-focused private equity firm, has held the final close of its fourth small-cap buyout fund, MED IV, at its €1.5bn hard cap, with the vehicle three times oversubscribed. The result signals that differentiated healthcare strategies can still command strong LP demand in a selective fundraising market. Separately, 1315 Capital acquired Argonaut's life sciences unit, which now operates independently as Aluris Sciences and provides contract manufacturing for life sciences, diagnostics and combination drug product customers from formulation through commercial supply.

Novo Holdings Makes First China Medtech Foray

Novo Holdings, the investment arm of Denmark's Novo Nordisk Foundation, has inked its first China medtech deal with For You Medical Devices, part of a broader Asia ramp-up. The firm is expanding the size of both its tickets and its team in the region, according to regional head Amit Kakar. The same briefing noted that Accel-KKR agreed to take UK construction software firm Eleco private, and that Ambienta's No Dig Alliance completed its fourth add-on with the acquisition of Sweden's Horisonterra.

Accel-KKR Takes Eleco Private in $281m Deal

Accel-KKR has agreed a $281m deal for Eleco, a London-headquartered provider of software for the construction and built-environment sector. The take-private adds another vertical software asset to the firm's portfolio at a time when listed UK technology companies continue to attract sponsor interest.

Ambienta's No Dig Alliance Buys Horisonterra

Ambienta announced that its portfolio company No Dig Alliance has acquired Horisonterra, a Torsåker-based specialist in trenchless underground pipe installation using horizontal directional drilling, serving infrastructure contractors and public authorities across Sweden. The transaction marks the platform's fourth add-on since Ambienta took control, illustrating the buy-and-build playbook in European infrastructure services.

Mubadala Anchors $1bn Luckin Coffee Transaction

Mubadala has agreed to take a significant minority position in Luckin Coffee alongside Centurium Capital, in a transaction valued at approximately $1bn. The deal hands the Abu Dhabi sovereign investor exposure to China's largest coffee chain and provides fresh capital to a business rebuilding after its accounting scandal.

Crop Nutrition and Industrial Services Attract Capital

Brenton Point Capital has invested in Lakeshore Ag, a crop nutrition firm based in Allegan, Michigan, that formulates, blends and distributes liquid fertilizer and provides customized agronomic programs to growers and agricultural dealers. In industrial services, Fusion Capital-backed Relevant Solutions acquired Conrad Kacsik Instrument Systems, a Solon, Ohio-based provider of thermal-processing control system engineering, calibration and metrology services to aerospace, automotive and medical customers.

Logistics, Waste and Garage Doors See Mid-Market Activity

Centre Partners and Altivare acquired freight logistics provider Navajo Expedited, a Lakeland, Florida-based technology-enabled business connecting commercial shippers with truckload capacity through a network of more than 8,000 vetted carriers. Blue Sage and Castle Capital launched Blue Castle Waste Solutions, established through concurrent partnerships with founder-owned waste-collection businesses serving communities across Minnesota and Iowa. Sterling Group-backed OGD completed three add-on deals — Madisonville Garage Doors, Hall's Garage Doors and Compaan Garage Doors — all founder-owned garage door sales, installation and service providers in the Midwest.

Kiteworks Acquires AI Security Firm Bonfy.AI

Insight Partners and Sixth Street's Kiteworks have acquired Bonfy.AI, an AI data security company whose platform classifies and enforces policies on sensitive data in real time across email, file sharing and AI systems. The bolt-on reflects continued consolidation in cybersecurity as sponsors seek assets that address enterprise AI governance.

Zombie Funds and the 'Open Survival Ending'

Until the private equity exit environment improves, unnaturally long-life funds will continue to multiply, with the 'open survival ending' emerging as the most likely destination for most zombie funds. The dynamic is intensifying pressure on GPs to deliver distributions rather than extend fund lives indefinitely.

GPs Struggle to Diligence AI Claims

General partners including Bain and Apollo said at the UK Private Capital Summit that it is difficult to quantify claims around AI's contribution to value creation and cost reduction, leaving managers struggling with AI diligence given the pace of development. The admissions highlight a gap between AI's promotional narrative and the measurable metrics LPs increasingly demand.

LPs Demand Clarity on Exits and Succession

Clarity and alignment on exits, value creation and succession planning are now essential components of the fundraising formula, an LP told PEI's Commitment Issues podcast, warning that 'smoke and mirrors' will not cut it during fundraising. Separately, mid-market CEOs from Eurazeo, Astorg and Ridgepost argued at an industry event on Wednesday that capital alone is no longer the deciding factor for management teams evaluating potential GP partners.

ADIA Turns Bullish After Raising PE Allocation Limit

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has raised the share of its portfolio set aside for private equity and hedge funds in its 2025 review, a shift that comes after last year marked the first time in five years the sovereign fund made no change to its private equity allocation range. The move signals renewed bullishness from one of the world's largest allocators at a time when many LPs are trimming exposure.

CEECAT Capital Raises €135m First Close

CEECAT Capital has held a €135m first close for its third fund, drawing cornerstone commitments from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Fund. The raise provides fresh firepower for a region that has struggled to attract institutional capital since the war in Ukraine began.

Vistria and Vivo Strengthen Leadership Bench

The Vistria Group has appointed Jeff Hawkins as head of its portfolio resources group. The middle-market private investment firm manages $18bn in assets under management, focused on essential industries including healthcare, knowledge and learning solutions, and financial services. Vivo Capital, meanwhile, tapped Neetesh Kumar as managing partner; he will co-lead the firm's buyout and private equity investment strategy with a focus on the US market and help establish its presence in New York.

Collaborative Fund Enters Pro Sports Ownership

Collaborative Fund has bought into D.C. United and its stadium, with firm founder Craig Shapiro pitching the move as a way to showcase the firm's startups. The investment follows Thrive Capital's earlier push into professional sports ownership, as venture firms increasingly view franchises as both brand platforms and long-duration assets.

Unicorn Board Adds 29 Companies in August

A total of 29 companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in August, adding around $63bn in value to the board, led by AI software and semiconductor companies. More than a third of the companies to join last month were under three years old, underscoring the compressed timelines now shaping venture outcomes.

South Korea's Innovation Economy and Growth Equity

Guest author Alberto Onetti, chairman of Mind the Bridge, examined how South Korea rose to become the world's eighth-largest ecosystem for national innovation, crediting sustained government investment and startup policy. In Europe, Sifted published a ranking of the most active growth equity investors across the continent.

Sifted: AI Auditing, Longevity and Geothermal

Cortea is building AI tools to make auditing more trustworthy, with its founder arguing that 'it's not just about automation but quality control'. Separately, Sifted explored the entrepreneurial advantage in a 100-year life, and compiled a list of seven geothermal startups to watch in 2026 according to VCs.

Cybersecurity Funding and Samsung's Mistral Bet

Bynario has raised €2.1m to tackle cybersecurity's AI slop problem, targeting the noise generated by AI-driven threat detection. Samsung's decision to back Mistral in a $3bn funding round drew scrutiny, with the strategic rationale tied to reducing reliance on US model providers.

Side Letter: Dispatches from Paris

PEI's Side Letter carried dispatches from Paris from an industry event, alongside Oregon's PE performance prompting an allocation rethink and Archimed doubling its healthcare firepower. The newsletter also flagged rising interest in European evergreen structures.

Mark Wahlberg to Headline Tech Crunch Disrupt 2026

Mark Wahlberg will join Bruce K. Lee at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to discuss investing, entrepreneurship, healthcare, wellness and building businesses. The actor-turned-investor said he wants to focus on attendees' work rather than his own film career.